the estimated scale of illegal cryptocurrency transactions last year reached 158 billion USD (approximately 226 trillion KRW), setting a record high.

Blockchain analysis company TRM Labs provided this estimate in the "2026 Cryptocurrency Crime Report." This figure represents a 145% increase compared to the previous year. In contrast, the scale of illegal cryptocurrency transactions from 2022 to 2024 was only between 64 billion and 75 billion USD, indicating an abnormal surge last year.

TRM Labs stated that this phenomenon is the result of multiple factors acting together, including strengthened sanctions, increased use of cryptocurrency by institutions in sanctioned target countries, and improvements in tracking technology.

Last year, cryptocurrency activities related to sanctions were mainly dominated by fund flows associated with Russia. Among them, the rapid growth of the stablecoin A7A5, pegged to the ruble, was particularly notable, with an estimated total transaction amount exceeding 72 billion USD.

Last year, illegal actors stole 287 million USD through about 150 hacking incidents. Although the number of incidents decreased compared to the previous year, the amounts were larger. Among them, the theft of 146 million USD worth of Ethereum from the exchange Bybit accounted for a large portion, and the theft was attributed to the North Korean hacker group Lazarus.